Preparing bast fiber, such as flax or hemp, for spinning.



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To aZZ whom it ma concern:

Be it known t at I, BnsrnannS. SUM MERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Port Huron, in the county of St.

Clair and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and .useful Improvements in the Art of Preparing Bast Fiber, Sue has Flax subject them to treatment by which the objectionable matter is either removed or so altered as to be no longer detrimental, the precise character of the changes efiected not being fully understood. The more usual treatment for this purpose consists in what is known as a retting process which as gen erally carried out hitherto and known as the natural rotting process consists in either submitting the raw material to the natural elements on grassy ground or in immersing it in water for a considerable period under certain definite conditions. As a result of this treatment, the objectionable matter becomes partially dissolved and softened or otherwise altered so that it may be readily washed or otherwise removed to a greater or less extent leaving the fiber in proper condition for spinning with substantially its original strength preserved.

My invention relates to a substitute for this so-called natural treatment and is espe cially adapted to flax fibers though it will be readily apparent from what follows that it is also applicable with slight, or no modification to a variety of other fibers.

My invention is based upon the discovery that by introducing into the fibers nitrogenous material of a certain character under suitable conditions it is possible to re roduce the efiect of natural rotting on ber,

securin a result e ual if notso erior,

thereto and very materially reducin the time required for treatment. I pre er to use asthe albuminoid or nitrogenous substance, milk casein which when decomposed either by a suitable re-agent or by putrefaction yields amido acid or fattysu stances, such as gl cocol, leucin, et cetera. These specification of Letters Patent.

,meate the fibrous mass.

iPatente d Feb. 2, 191 5.

Application filed June 12. 1911. Serial No. 832,570.

products of decomposition of nitrogenous matters are especially efi'ective in producing the desired solvent or other action upon the gummy, pectose and other matters of which it is desired to free the fiber, and at the same time they do not produce the weakening and other ill effects of many or all of the solvents which it has heretofore been propsed to use in place ofthe natural rettingprocess. l have found also that by my process that essential property of fibers which enters into and affects the spinning of the same known as nature is improved over that obtained by processes hitherto knownto me and the dyeing properties of the fiber are also benefited.

The nitrogenous material may be prepared in a variety of ways. Thus, I have found that very good results may be obtained by allowing the albuminoid or other nitrogenous substances to ferment or partially putrefy before employing them in the treatment of fiber, or if preferred 1 make the solution for treatment of the fiber contain about two per cent. casein and two per cent. sal soda, varying it somewhat according to the fiber to be treated, and use enough water to thoroughly cover and per- Preferably for a good high grade fiber 1 subject the fiber to a number of treatments in such solutions and afterward the fibrous mass is thoroughly washed out in plain water and carefully dried I may also employ other alkalis instead er sal soda, such'as for example caustic soda, although the strength is not quite as ood as when'the preferred re-agent is use a very good grade of fiber, however,

resulting. For the best efiect, however, the

fiber previous to its treatment with albuminoid or nitrogenous substances is subjected to an alkali treatment, for which purpose sodium carbonate or sal soda is satisfactory. When this method is adopted 1 make a hot solution of the alkali, which in the case of sal soda may be saturated or of a less strength, and boil the fiber therein for about one hour with or without the addition of a small percentage of casein to the solution. After the alkali treatment, I remove the fiber, drain it and introduce it into a solution of casein dissolved in a small amount of sal soda. For this purpose the proportions above specified, a. e. 2% casein and 2% sal soda, have been foundefiective though they ma cording to the fiber being treated.

While I have described the use of casein as the principal re-agent in my process, it will be obvious that a great variety of other nitrogenous matters of animal origin are available for the purpose and I am not limited, therefore, to the employment of casein. Again I have described boiling as a suitable method of securing the desired penetration of the nitrogenous matters within the. mass of fibers, though this is not essential, but, on the other hand very satisfactory results may be obtained by simply soaking the fiber in the re-agent, the reaction in this case being slower, and the preliminary treatment with alkali, as heretofore stated, may be widely varied or omitted altogether without departing from the spirit of my invention.

be widely varied, as above stated, ac-

products. 7

, BERTRAND S. SUMMERS.

Witnesses r G. J. SMITH, C. l). BEARD. 

